Brickell Heights Development Site Tour Through Google Glass
Brickell Heights is the latest pre-construction condo project to be developed by Related Group. Location is going to be a HUGE selling point for this development due to its proximity to Mary Brickell Village and the upcoming Brickell City Centre. Residents of Brickell Heights will be just steps away from 5 million square feet of an array of luxury shops, restaurants and entertainment. Seeing is believing though, so I decided to hop in my car to give everyone a tour of the development site using Google Glass. You will see that Brickell Heights is directly across the street from Mary Brickell Village and just one block south of Brickell City Centre.
Update: I now have Brickell Heights floor plans, renderings and an e-brochure on my building profile page.
444 Brickell Acquired by Related Group for $100M
Once again, foreign buyers have what seems like an unrelenting appetite for Miami real estate. Perhaps nobody knows this better than Related Group. Since mid-last year, they have been on a massive land hunt in Miami. This past Friday, they were back at it again when they paid $100M for a 4-acre site located at 444 Brickell Avenue.
$100M is a hefty sum by any means, but how does it compare to other land acquisitions in the past? Most notably, how does it compare to the price paid for the land directly across the street at the Icon Brickell site? Icon Brickell, also developed by Related Group, resides on a 5-acre parcel of land that was acquired in 2004 for $94M. Besides their size, the key difference between to the two parcels of land is that 444 Brickell resides along one body of water, the Miami River, while the Icon Brickell site resides along two bodies of water, the Miami River and Biscayne Bay. To put it simply, this past Friday, Related Group paid $6M more for a piece of land that was one acre smaller and positioned with less water frontage. This comparison goes to show just how much real estate values in Miami have bounced back since the boom and bust cycle of yesteryear.
There is no word yet as to what will be constructed at the 444 Brickell site, but, given the $100M price paid for the land, one would think that it will be just as monstrous as the 1,800 unit development across the street. Expect to see at least 1,600 luxury units along with high profile commercial space at the base.
Miami Preconstruction Condos
Miami condo boom 2.0 is well underway and, over the past year, a plethora of luxury condo developments have been announced for South Florida. I have decided to launch a page devoted to the latest and greatest preconstruction condo developments in Miami and other surrounding areas. I will keep it updated as new projects are announced. Definitely check back in two weeks to learn about a very exciting waterfront development in Edgewater that is expected to be announced on July 15th. You won’t want to miss it!
Baltus House – Related’s Latest Pre-construction Condo Development in Miami
Reservations are now being accepted for Baltus House – RELATED’s most recent pre-construction condo development. It will be located at 4300 Biscayne Boulevard – a five minute walk from the luxury shops and world famous restaurants in the Design District. Baltus House, designed by Arquitectonica, will have 167 total units across 15 floors with a mix of studios, one, two and three bedroom units. Amenities at Baltus House will include a state-of-the-art fitness center, 55-foot long swimming pool and over-sized Whirlpool, beautifully appointed clubroom and rooftop terrace with Jacuzzi and BBQ area.
Visit my Baltus House page for more details including a full-color brochure and floor plans. Contact me if you have any questions or an interest in making a reservations. The payment/deposit schedule is as follows:
- 10% Reservation / Now
- 10% Contract / July 2013
- 20% Ground Breaking / September 2013
- 10% Top Off / Spring 2014
- 50% Delivery / Spring 2014
Echo Brickell – Brickell’s Latest Pre-construction Condo Development
It appears that a luxury pre-construction condo development named Echo Brickell will begin accepting reservations next week. The Miami Herald reports that the skyscraper will rise 750 feet , or 60 stories, and feature large floor plans with up to 250 total units. The penthouses are expected to span over 7,000 square feet – unusually large by Brickell standards. Once completed, Echo Brickell will be the second tallest building in the neighborhood.
Unlike the handful of other pre-construction condo developments in Brickell that have been announced over the past couple of years, Echo Brickell will be located directly on the famed Brickell Avenue. The development will be erected at 1451 Brickell Avenue – a corner lot between The Four Seasons and St. Jude Melkite Catholic Church. Echo Brickell will be developed by Property Markets Group – the same development group which recently had a very successful launch of a 190-unit condo development in Aventura called Echo Aventura. World famous architect, Carlos Ott, has been chosen to design the luxury high-rise. Units at Echo Brickell will feature 10, 12 and 14-foot ceilings. The article states that plans for Echo Brickell include a swimming pool, which will encompass an entire floor about midway up the building, along with a fitness center and spa above it. The units will be sold move-in ready.
No mention of pricing was included in the article. However, in the coming days, I plan to get more information regarding Echo Brickell…so stay tuned!
Construction Shot of the Rooftop Pool at myBrickell
Last week, while showing a unit on the southwest corner of Brickell on the River South, I was able to take this great shot of the pool deck at myBrickell. As you can see, the pool deck is currently under construction. I couldn’t help but notice that the shape of the pool looks different than what was proposed in the renderings below. Also, the view of Biscayne Bay to the east has somehow magically disappeared.
Not all is lost though. Residents of myBrickell will have a front row seat to the construction site of Brickell CityCentere – the $1B+ mixed-used development which will completely change the landscape of Miami forever. It takes an aerial view like the one below to appreciate how massive this development is going to be. It is so big that I wasn’t able to fit one or two of the lots to the north into the shot.
BrickellHouse Construction Update
It seems just like yesterday that BrickellHouse was nothing more than an empty lot and a pile of dirt. Look at it now. A lot of progress has been made over the past couple of months as the construction crew keeps chugging right along. Completion of BrickellHouse is projected to take place in 2014.
Brickell Condo Market Expected to Remain Strong Throughout 2013 and 2014
As of late, little has been said about the fact that myBrickell and 1100 Millecento are completely out of inventory. With the exception of two very large penthouses, the same goes for BrickellHouse. Take a moment to digest that piece of news. Of the 948 combined units that these three developments represent, only two remain available. That speaks volumes about the strength of this real estate market in Miami. 192 units at myBrickell are scheduled for delivery towards the end of this year and the balance of condos from the two other developments are not expected until the end of 2014. In the meantime, demand remains high so existing condo inventory should continue to dwindle. There isn’t much help on the way in near term either. We know that there will be a residential aspect to the highly anticipated Brickell Citicentre, which is currently under construction, but no sales information has been released as of yet. Regardless, completion of those condominiums would not be expected until 2015 at the earliest. We also know that Related Group recently purchased the Infinity II site located at 1300 S Miami Avenue. It is highly likely that sales for condominiums in that project will be announced sometime during the first half of this year. The site is approved for a 65-story tower with 556 total units so don’t expect those units to be delivered any earlier than mid-2015 unless the project is massively scaled back. Lastly, there has also been mention of Panorama Tower and Villa Magna but both projects will be rather massive so inventory in either wouldn’t be expected until late-2015. In summary, I think it is relatively safe to say that, barring any global economic meltdown, prices for condominiums in Brickell should enjoy a steady rise throughout 2013 and 2014 given the lack of inventory that will exist over the course of that time period.
By the way, the two remaining penthouses at BrickellHouse are priced at $2,396,000 for 3,500 interior square feet and $5,200,000 for 7,500 interior square feet. No matter how you slice it, sub-$700 per square foot for a penthouse in a building of this caliber is an amazing deal.
IconBay to Include Garage-top Tennis Courts and Watersports Marina
Rooftop tennis courts? Why didn’t anyone say anything? I’m not an avid tennis player but I wouldn’t mind partaking in a few games of tennis if they were to be held on a rooftop offering a majestic water view. Heck, I’m not even a tennis player period but I might just volunteer to be the line judge. Where do I sign up? One of IconBay’s latest renderings reveals two tennis courts atop its parking garage. It appears, however, that only one of the two courts will offer an unobstructed view of Biscayne Bay. I wonder what the wait time for that court will be. The tennis courts at IconBay will be located on the 7th floor and offer ball and towel service, filtered water stations and access to his-and-hers locker rooms. The courts will even be lighted to allow for nighttime play.
It seems that recreational activities and encouraging its residents to live a healthy lifestyle will be a central theme for Icon Bay. Icon Bay’s latest marketing piece states that it will include a watersports marina for windsurfing, paddleboarding, sailing, jet skiing and other motorized and non-motorized aquatic activities. How awesome is that?
The waterfront sculpture park will also be a distinguishing feature for Icon Bay. Featured artists will include: José Bedia Valdes, Carolina Sardi, Edouard Duval Carrié , Gary Nader and Daniel Maman. In the rendering above, notice the dog park, sculpture garden, exercise stations, play fountain and interactive sculpture along with the winding walkways and baywalk. Sounds like it will be one helluva park!
The Infinity-edge pool at Icon Bay will be accented by a snack and cocktail bar and private cabanas. Towel service will also be offered.
The fitness center and spa at IconBay will include top-of-the-line cardio and weight training equipment, sauna and steam rooms, personal trainers, yoga and Pilates classes and more.
Notice the triangular-shaped balconies on the backside of the building in the above rendering of IconBay. You also get a good shot of the two tennis courts. I must say that these latest renderings have me excited about the prospects for IconBay. It will definitely be a game-changer for the neighborhood. Hopefully the watersports marina will be open to non-residents as well.
I updated our Icon Bay building profile page to include all of the latest information that has been released including amenities and residence features.
